On March 15, the United States and European Union officially concluded a long-awaited bilateral aviation safety agreement (BASA) designed to make government oversight of the aviation industry more efficient and pave the way for future transatlantic regulatory cooperation.

The BASA allows the reciprocal acceptance of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certification and oversight of civil aviation products and repair stations. The United States and European Union specifically agreed to recognize each other’s “findings of compliance and approvals.” This means, for example, that the FAA can determine a U.S. repair station is eligible for an EASA approval to work on European Union-registered products without a separate inspection by European regulators.

“By eliminating duplicative oversight, the BASA will reduce regulatory compliance costs for industry and make government more efficient,” Sarah MacLeod, executive director of the Aeronautical Repair Station Association (ARSA), said. “The agreement will ensure U.S. and European companies that meet strict government safety standards can compete on a transatlantic basis with a minimum of red tape.”

The Council of the European Union press release announcing the exchange of diplomatic notes is available here.

The text of the BASA is available here. It will become effective on May 1, 2011.

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